Opinions on "Hookups"?

[Joern]

Hi Everyone,

I came across these poles for rafting up boats together:

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All of our Hookcups have a sleek lightweight design. The suction cups and aluminum frame keep you "hooked up" and 24 inches away from the other boat(s) that you are hooked up to. Sold as a set of 2.

thehookcups.com

Besides the price (399 ), what do you guys think about them?
Would strong suction cups leave marks on the gelcoat?

I think a similar product could be made with a set of suction cups (with handle for carrying glass etc, $25 a pair on amazon), PVC pipe with a cutout to fit the handle to center it and some rope, but i'm curious about the cups on the gelcoat...
Looks interesting, especially after getting our old boat dinged up last summer by my buddy's boat after a fender slipped unnoticed..

Cheers!

 

[OrangeTJ]

I'd have a very hard time trusting suction cups for this, personally, especially if ther eis any chance of wakes coming through. That's just me, though.

 

[drewkaree]

You say "besides the price ($399)" as if that's not something to stop you right in your tracks.

I can buy a metric buttload of fenders & lines or sandbar spikes for that amount. There's overspending, and there's foolish spending. In my book, that product qualifies as foolish spending. Realize that they have it on their website as PRE-sale, meaning you're getting DISCOUNT pricing. That means the final price tag will be much much more for an already-ridiculous price of an item that is attempting to replace a tried, tested, & PROVEN method of keeping boats separated (lines, fenders, anchors).

Suction cups leave marks on your windows when you use a suction cup mount for phones or tablets, there's no reason to think otherwise when it comes to your gelcoat. Will it damage it? Who knows. Do you realize when you're going to find out it damages the gelcoat? AFTER it's damaged the gelcoat. I have yet to read of someone damaging their gelcoat with a standard inflatable fender, without some SERIOUS operator error, i.e. trying to reinvent the wheel in how they deploy their fenders.

Sorry if I came off as harsh, but a $400 "discount" product isn't something I'd consider a wise purchase, and while I'm usually all for DIY or copycat solutions, this idea seems ripe for failure or mistakes that could cause damage in multiple ways, given the way it separates your boat from another boat. You can buy some pretty dang awesome fenders that work for more than what this single-purpose item is specifically designed to address.

IMO, the space savings is negated by the need to carry fenders for tie-ups at a dock, so I would pass for my boat, since I'm already prepared for a tie-up with the things I mentioned.

 

[haknslash]

Why not just get some big inflatable fenders from LetsTieUp and bungee dock lines?

 

[Joern]

You say "besides the price ($399)" as if that's not something to stop you right in your tracks.

I can buy a metric buttload of fenders & lines or sandbar spikes for that amount. There's overspending, and there's foolish spending. In my book, that product qualifies as foolish spending. Realize that they have it on their website as PRE-sale, meaning you're getting DISCOUNT pricing. That means the final price tag will be much much more for an already-ridiculous price of an item that is attempting to replace a tried, tested, & PROVEN method of keeping boats separated (lines, fenders, anchors).

Suction cups leave marks on your windows when you use a suction cup mount for phones or tablets, there's no reason to think otherwise when it comes to your gelcoat. Will it damage it? Who knows. Do you realize when you're going to find out it damages the gelcoat? AFTER it's damaged the gelcoat. I have yet to read of someone damaging their gelcoat with a standard inflatable fender, without some SERIOUS operator error, i.e. trying to reinvent the wheel in how they deploy their fenders.

Sorry if I came off as harsh, but a $400 "discount" product isn't something I'd consider a wise purchase, and while I'm usually all for DIY or copycat solutions, this idea seems ripe for failure or mistakes that could cause damage in multiple ways, given the way it separates your boat from another boat. You can buy some pretty dang awesome fenders that work for more than what this single-purpose item is specifically designed to address.

IMO, the space savings is negated by the need to carry fenders for tie-ups at a dock, so I would pass for my boat, since I'm already prepared for a tie-up with the things I mentioned.

i very much agree that a 399 pricetag (i think that's before the promo discount, but anyway still overpriced) is very off-putting indeed.

I just thought that it's an interesting looking idea, and as i said initially, something i think could be home made for 25 bucks in material - i just wasn't sure what to think about suction cups on gelcoat..

 

[zipper]

Just my $.02...I want something soft and not rigid between boats. If the suction cups fail, for whatever reason, you may be left with the rigid assembly of welded aluminum, plastic, s.s. pins rubbing against your gelcoat. IDK, traditional fender guy I guess.

 

[Joern]

Just my $.02...I want something soft and not rigid between boats. If the suction cups fail, for whatever reason, you may be left with the rigid assembly of welded aluminum, plastic, s.s. pins rubbing against your gelcoat. IDK, traditional fender guy I guess.

Yeah that crossed my mind too. Then i thought about how to replace the suction cups with a strap and hooks (still a PVC pipe in between) that mounts on the cleats... But that would require to have cleats in roughly the same locations on both boats and just add unnecessary complexity/risk.
I'll just stick with the proven fenders and pay closer attention to fender placement

Thanks for the inputs!

 

[anmut]

I've seen these pop up on FB groups recently and I'm trying to figure out what problem they're trying to solve that an couple nice big fenders don't.

 

[Babin Farms]

I’ve been in a cove, tied to another boat w/tower, large fenders between the 2 of us and some jack wagon came plowing through and it was all we could to the keep the boats from bashing into each other in the rollers it left us to deal with. Towers damn near hit each other & almost busted out the side window. In a situation like that you have no control other than trying your best to keep things from getting from bad to worse. Suction cups would have never held up to those conditions an my thoughts are that they may work if conditions are ideal and your the only one on the body if water.

 

[anmut]

I’ve been in a cove, tied to another boat w/tower, large fenders between the 2 of us and some jack wagon came plowing through and it was all we could to the keep the boats from bashing into each other in the rollers it left us to deal with. Towers damn near hit each other & almost busted out the side window. In a situation like that you have no control other than trying your best to keep things from getting from bad to worse. Suction cups would have never held up to those conditions an my thoughts are that they may work if conditions are ideal and your the only one on the body if water.

Agree - if you show me some videos of five boats with towers staying together and not smashing into each other with some big rollers, then yes, I'm buying. But knowing the nature of suction cups on fiberglass and how much waves can impact boats tied together, I'm thinking nope.

 

[adrianp89]

Have them sign a consent form and use protection. Wait... nvm that advise works too.